Monthly Newsletter

Mr. Leonid I. Polyakov

Leonid I. Polyakov (Colonel, Army of Ukraine, retired) is director of Military Programs at Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov (Razumkov Centre) in Kyiv, Ukraine. His last position on active duty was as a State Expert (senior advisor) on the Analytical Service of the National Security and Defense Council Staff, Ukraine. His military service also includes a combat tour as Company Commander in Afghanistan, Group Chief for U.S./Ukraine military contacts, Senior Research Fellow on the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and various other military command and staff officer positions. As NATO Fellow 1999-2001, Mr. Polyakov worked on The Russian Factor in Ukraine’s Relations with NATO: Possible Outcomes and Policy Implications for Ukraine and NATO. He guided the development of Razumkov Centre’s analytical reports: Military Reform in Ukraine: Start, or Another False Start?; Democratic Civilian Control over the Military in Ukraine: On the Path from Form to Substance; Ukraine’s Relations with NATO within the Context of European Security, and Transfer to Professional Armed Forces in Ukraine: Problems and Prospects.
His numerous publications touch the broad range of Ukrainian and regional security issues, and include Ukrainian-NATO Relations and New Prospects for Peacekeeping (United Kingdom: The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2003); Ukraine’s Security between Russia and the West [Die Siecherheitspolitic der Ukraine zwischen Russland und dem Westen], Austria: Mittler, Jahrbuch fur internationale Sicherheitspolitic 2002; “Military Reforms in Russia” in Toward an Understanding of Russia. New European Perspectives (New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2002); and “American Defense Transformation: A View from Ukraine” in Transforming Defense (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, December 2001). Mr. Polykov is a graduate of Frunze Military Academy in Moscow, the U.S. Army War College (1995), and the George C. Marshall Center for European Security (Senior Executive Course, 2001).

*The above information may not be current. It was current at the time when the individual worked for SSI or was published by SSI.

SSI books and monographs by Mr. Leonid I. Polyakov

December 01, 2004

Authored by Mr. Leonid I. Polyakov.
Experience of recent years demonstrates that troops of post-Soviet Ukraine have been and continue to be a potential coalition partner of the U.S. Army; so success of American future engagement could depend on how these two countries act today to build their interoperability. This monograph provides a comprehensive account of Ukrainian-American defense relations and outlines the lessons learned and challenges ahead for both partners.